Skip
by sakoshi
Summary: A GWWK crossover. Duo is on his way home when he happens to pass by an interesting flower shop named Koneko no Sumu Ie and has a look inside. I've changed a few parts please r


Skip  
  
"Skip, skip, skip..." Duo was counting the steps to his home. "Skip, skip..."  
  
The wind whistled cheerily in his ears as he carefully wound his way around the sidewalk, looking about him as he went. His mind was quite blank, but he had one thought, and it was to go home.  
  
"Skip, skip..."  
  
He swerved just in time to avoid colliding with an elderly lady who happened to blunder into his path. He grinned at her and called out his apologies, and waved as the lady smiled her apologies to him. His mind was jogged by the sudden incident, but being used to such interruptions he went back to counting the number of steps home.  
  
"Skip, skip..."  
  
He noticed the light, airy breeze that faintly lifted and hurriedly dropped the weight of his yard-long braid. He stared up at the long, wedge- shaped bangs hanging above his face; it somewhat relaxed him to see the deep brown of the shiny locks swaying softly to the wind. He tried to blow them up a little with a small puff of breath, but the wind was against him.  
  
"Skip, skip..."  
  
He took a quick glance at his watch and saw that it was half-past three. Still rather early, he thought; enough time for a little sightseeing. With this in mind he darted to and fro among the crowd, looking here and there at the shop windows and taking in the lush fragrance of the afternoon air. There was little to bother him with the sun high in the sky, the sky a pale blue dotted here and there by puffy clouds that seemed to suggest a very cheerful day. And it was, to Duo, who took in large lungfuls of the fresh air that surrounded him.  
  
"Skip, skip..."  
  
He happened by a pleasant little flower shop called Koneko no Sumu Ie; it seemed a rather queer name, so he decided to drop by and have a look. It was somewhat small and plain, but it exuded an amiable atmosphere that endeared it to everyone who entered. Duo loved places like these that warmly welcomed the people who passed by and enticed them to have a good, long look at the goods for sale. He happened to like a small vase of cattleyas expertly displayed at the window; these he stared at with an unexplainable longing whilst admiring the wide variety of roses, carnations, and whatnot put here and there in neat little pots. After devouring these he took a look at the people working in the shop. They seemed all right, though something set them apart from the regular people he saw in flower shops. There were four of them, all men. They bustled about in work-aprons, talking animatedly among themselves. Duo thought that this coincidence would be very interesting to watch, and that was exactly what he did for the next hour and a half.  
  
One of the florists, who was obviously the youngest, was giving orders to the others working with him; this wasn't new to Duo, having seen a number of young leaders and being one himself. This young 'boss' was very efficient in his work, bustling about and setting things in proper order quickly and smoothly with an air of maturity and discipline, although he was much, much younger than most bosses - Duo estimated his age to be about fourteen or fifteen, just as old as he was. However, he wasn't a prissy sort of boss who barked orders at people; in fact he had a very congenial demeanor, and was very affable in his ways. He had a round, babyish face with large laughing eyes; he seemed to be a rather overgrown baby who acted like a mature adult. His kind face was handsome in its youth, and this was augmented by the large green eyes which were gentle and twinkled with joy. This was evident in the fact that most of the customers were girls, and they had ostensibly come to see this boy whom they affectionately called Omi. He was the amiable fellow who met the giggling, chattering girls with a gentle smile and courteously showed them about, though this must have been quite embarrassing for him as the others watched and chuckled softly at their companion.  
  
Duo felt a certain liking for this boy, who willingly gave away bouquets of fresh flowers if he felt that it would help someone in distress. A girl had entered the shop sobbing, weeping as though her life were about to end. Omi quickly rushed to her side and asked her what was the matter, and after hearing her tearful tale he patted her shoulder and said it was all right, then gave her a bunch of flowers to cheer her up. Duo grinned; talk about a really sweet guy. Makes sense why he's so popular with the girls.  
  
Another florist seemed to be an overgrown kid; he also had a friendly face, but it seemed much older than that of Omi's and was rugged and dark. Duo noted that he had a rather weird sense of fashion - he had on a pair of denim pants and jacket, big jogging shoes and a bandanna tied around his head - but this seemed to go unnoticed. He had a good sense of humor and was generally friendly, though not as sensible as Omi - Duo thought the overgrown kid description fit him not only physically but mentally as well. The others called him Ken. Duo didn't pay much attention to him until he noticed a group of children waiting outside the shop. They were calling for 'Ken-nii', whom Duo guessed to be Ken. He watched as Ken dropped what he was doing and went outside to meet the children. They kept on chattering about practicing soccer and having 'Ken-nii' teach them how to kick the ball into the goals, while he blithely humored them and promised that he'd go once he was done with his work. After the children had gone, laughing and joking as they went, Ken heaved a sigh and smiled, seeming to have enjoyed himself while talking to the children. Duo couldn't understand how he could possibly enjoy being surrounded by a large group of noisy children while being constantly chided about not having finished work early enough to spend time with them, but then, being an overgrown child makes one rather deaf to such things.  
  
Another one whom Duo noticed was the tallest - he seemed to have a cool, collected air about him as he went about his work. He seemed to think of this as just another obligation, and was tacitly looking forward to something else. He had wavy dark blonde hair up to his neck and wore black elliptical glasses that accented his good looks. Under the drab work-apron Duo noticed how well he dressed - he had on an expensive Armani shirt, a pair of fine pants and sleek black shoes - how could a florist get enough money for such things? Maybe he has a side job, Duo thought. This fellow didn't seem to care much about everything around him; from what Duo could pick up from the conversation, he was a womanizer named Youji who woke up in the afternoon and frequently had girls waiting for him in the shop. Duo could see from the way he walked that he was rather flippant, walking with careless, self-assured strides and with a naughty gleam in his eye. He saw Youji wink at a certain woman inside the shop who wore a skirt a pinch too tight; he chuckled to himself when Youji accidentally tripped on a small flowerpot by the door.  
  
Duo thought that he'd never seen so many good-looking guys all working in the same shop at the same shifts; he was wondering what kind of a flower shop it was that he'd found himself in. However, these thoughts soon wandered into the back of his mind as he beheld the last of the motley crew. He was a solitary figure, standing alone in a corner as the others argued about this and that. He seemed to be in a world of his own, swallowed by his own thoughts as he monotonously watered each pot with a wanton carelessness. He wore an orange sweater which seemed to have been worn many, many times; it seemed to be his favourite if not the only sweater he had, Duo thought. His red hair was of a deep, sentimental hue, with long, thin wisps dangling in front of his ears. On his left ear he wore a long, skinny earring; it seemed to accentuate the forlorn solitude that set him apart from the others. Duo could see no reason why he would only wear one, and on his left ear; everything about this fellow was very strange and mysterious, so mysterious that he couldn't put his finger on anything that he did. His eyes were narrow and deep; Duo could see in them that he'd been through many years of suffering and pain, though he couldn't tell what kind of pain it was.  
  
While everyone else in the shop bustled about with a certain liveliness, he seemed to be stoic and unmoving. Whenever one of his coworkers asked him to move a pot or help carry something, he would just put down his watering can, help out the others then go back to what he was doing. It was as though he was living in another world, deep within the recesses of his own thoughts; or, perhaps, he had ceased to live at all. He was a very quiet fellow, keeping to himself and saying little if nothing at all to anyone; he seemed to be perfectly fine just watering the plants. Duo knew that there was something much, much deeper than this about him, but he couldn't tell what it was. The others called him Aya; Duo wondered why he would let them call him such a feminine name. Although he pondered this for a while, Duo couldn't find any logical reason why he would let them call him that, and what its connection was to his attitude. Maybe he just liked it that way, he thought.  
  
There was something about Aya that Duo just couldn't fathom; it seemed that the others couldn't as well, and thus simply left him to his own devices. He supposed that he must have worked with them for a number of years if they were to trust him as he was. Duo was sure of one thing, though: something had gone horribly wrong with Aya, possibly when he was younger, and that had turned him into what he was now. The pain in Aya's eyes was a continuous, throbbing pain, but it seemed to have become a part of his personality; it blended in so well with his features that Duo suspected he'd been living with it for a long time. He could tell that it had something to do with something very important in Aya's life, but what? What could it have been? A friend who died in an accident? The loss of a valuable possession? What?  
  
Duo's head was already spinning with possible explanations for Aya's condition when he happened to glance at his watch; it was already almost five. He had to hurry home. He took a last look at the florists, winked at Omi who happened to look his way, and briskly walked up the sidewalk to his apartment, not noticing the bewildered look that Omi had sent after him. He didn't hear the resounding crash as a flowerpot fell to the ground, the cries and moans of the florists who hurriedly bustled about cleaning up the mess and the contemplative stare that Aya had shot at him as his figure slowly disappeared into the crowd, his all-black costume slowly fading away. He was sure to remember this interesting little flower shop called Koneko no Sumu Ie; he hadn't found any 'kittens in the house', but he was happy with what he'd seen. A bit of intrigue and the fresh scent of flowers is always good for the soul.  
  
Meanwhile, inside the flower shop, Aya was still staring out the shop window, watching the last traces of a black figure disappear into the crowd. He would remember for a long time without knowing why that long, braided brown hair that reached almost to the boy's knees, the all-black ensemble and the cheerful, winsome face with the big blue eyes and the wedge-shaped bangs curving over it. He wouldn't forget how that boy had impishly winked at Omi and unknowingly caused the chaos that was now ensuing in the shop. Though this was of no consequence to him, he felt that something about that boy bothered him, for he stood out among all the other visitors in the shop. However, this was not something that he was wont to notice. It seemed to him that just another day had passed, and so many more like it were to follow.  
  
He went back to watering the plants as he thought of the boy with the long braided hair whose spirits were so high and whose heart leapt with joy.  
  
"Skip, skip..." 


End file.
